Olive Garden Copycat Soup

Some people think that summer soup is never appropriate, but I like it once in a while. This week we got red-skinned potatoes and kale from the CSA so I thought I would make one of my favorite soup recipes. I got this recipe from a fabulous cook and friend from church named Cathy. I used some of her modifications/expert tips. It's a copycat of the Toscana Soup from Olive Garden. 

First, you bake spicy Italian sausage for about 25 minutes at 300 degrees or until it's cooked through. It helps to cook it on crumpled tin foil so that the fat drains into the creases. 

In the meantime, begin chopping about 1/2 an onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 3-4 medium red-skinned potatoes (I cut off the blemishes and left the skin on, but you could peel them if you don't like the skins), and 6-8 leaves of kale, chopped into thirds or quarters depending how big the leaves are. We had Russian Red Kale from the farm, but I've used the curly kind before when I've made this recipe. Both work out well. After the sausage is cooled, chop it into slices. Saute the onions and garlic in a stock pot with a little bit of olive oil. When the onions become clear, add the cooked, sliced sausage and saute together. Next, add the sliced potatoes and about 1 quart of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and turn down to simmer on low for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are fully cooked. Add 1/3 cup of heavy whipping cream and the kale and simmer for another 4 minutes. Make bread sticks and salad to go with it and you can have your own unlimited soup, salad, and bread sticks meal at home.